


work issued polo

by greasydenbrough



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: F/M, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Pre-Canon, the Normal tags for something twinyard related
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-20
Updated: 2020-06-20
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:40:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24813982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greasydenbrough/pseuds/greasydenbrough
Summary: He rubbed his eyes, with his vision returned to him the first thing he saw his mother, freshly woken up, yelling at the man at the door. He’d seen her like this, but only at the most ungodly hours at night with a man who he would never see again. This man, however, he’d seen plenty of times. The blue polo with a small drop of water over the left breast gave it away to him. This was the man who was here to turn off their water, because his mom couldn’t pay the bill yet again.
Relationships: Aaron Minyard & Andrew Minyard, Katelyn/Aaron Minyard
Comments: 1
Kudos: 19





	work issued polo

When Aaron Minyard was seven years old, he was woken up by the slam of the door and yelling. He was asleep in his bedroom. He soon rolled out of the bed and stumble-walked to the front door. 

He rubbed his eyes, with his vision returned to him the first thing he saw his mother, freshly woken up, yelling at the man at the door. He’d seen her like this, but only at the most ungodly hours at night with a man who he would never see again. This man, however, he’d seen plenty of times. The blue polo with a small drop of water over the left breast gave it away to him. This was the man who was here to turn off their water, because his mom couldn’t pay the bill yet again. 

Subconsciously, he moved close to his mother, holding on to her nightgown. 

“I have a kid! He’s seven! He needs to be able to shower today, and I need to be able to do dishes and make him food! Give me a day- a day and a half- and I can get you the money. Just let me get it instead of ripping away the fu-, the water from me and my son.” Tilda’s words were more tame, with Aaron looking up at the man who’d been there to turn off the water. He stared the man down, his hazel eyes looking to be close to tears. Pity could only get someone so far, but Aaron had already learned that being a scrawny cute kid, he could get pretty far off of pity alone. 

“End of tomorrow. If the amount isn’t paid we have to shut you off.” Aaron and his mother both smiled at that, shutting the door once he turned. 

“You really saved mommy, there. Get dressed, let’s go grab breakfast.” Tilda smiled and ruffled Aaron’s hair, making him scurry off with some sense of victory for helping his mom. 

\---

Aaron Minyard was ten years old when he heard a knock on the door. He’d made it into the castle for level seven of Mario, and he only paused it after he heard a second knock. 

“Be there in a second!” He paused the game, opening the door only a few seconds later, and frowning at the man who was waiting on the other side; short brown hair, work-issued polo, clipboard in hand. He’d gotten used to seeing them, but not when he was alone. 

“Hi, champ. Is mom or dad home?” Aaron shook his head, and noted to himself how the man looked a little disappointed. “Well, the electric bill is a little too far past due. I’m afraid I’m going to have to shut it off.” Aaron didn’t like how he said he was afraid to do it. That man wasn’t the one whose power was being shut off because his mother didn’t have money, he had no reason to be afraid. Every morning that man knew he’d have electricity, he had nothing to be afraid of. 

“My mom gets her check tomorrow, she’ll give it right away and we can pay for it.” Lies. Tilda wasn’t going to be paid for another three days, and Aaron knew that. “Please, I promise she’ll have it.” He hated making himself appear that small, but the quiver of his lower lip and pleading eyes sealed the deal. 

“Tomorrow, okay? If it’s not paid we’ll have to shut you off until then.” Both of them nodded, and Aaron watched him go back to the car before closing the door. Another triumph for Aaron and Tilda Minyard. 

\---

When Aaron Minyard was fourteen years old, he wasn’t home when the man or woman or whoever shut off his power. He’d stumbled into the house late that night, his mind in one place and his body in another dimension far from it. Based on the silence of the house, Tilda was gone. Luther wasn’t there to bug him, because it was Saturday, and there was church the next morning. 

He took a moment to register that the power was out. Both he and his mother had the same  _ marvelous  _ idea to be high that night, and everything was hazy. Aaron’s movements up the stairs to his room were slow, partially due to the lack of light to guide him to the bathroom and partially due to his altered state. Turning on the light switch was a result of him being on auto-pilot, the same as turning on the hot water knowing damn well he’d be taking another ice cold shower that night. 

The cold stray of water woke him up, reminding all his senses he’s alive and this is his life yet again, that it hasn’t changed and that his mom wouldn’t notice the bill was past due for two days, and that he’d gotten used to it with Tilda. 

\---

Aaron’s sixteenth birthday was the first one he spent with his brother. There was no party, no cake waiting for them downstairs with a pile of gifts to open. He and Andrew had gotten closer since he moved in, and Aaron wouldn’t dare say they’re brothers, but friends felt appropriate. Because it was Andrew’s first birthday home, they both got a good sum of money from Luther and Maria. Aaron felt like part of it was intended to keep Aaron from blabbing to Andrew about how messy the Hemmick house had gotten in the past few years. Neither twin liked Maria or Luther, but they didn’t deny the money. 

He and Andrew got back to the house around the same time that night, Andrew still taking off his boots when Aaron got inside. Aaron couldn’t spot it right away, but Andrew had has backpack on him, which looked to be filled to the brim. Aaron slipped his shoes off, Andrew going upstairs and Aaron going to the kitchen to grab a snack. 

It was routine, one of them would grab food and drink for the both of them when the coast was clear, and they’d stay upstairs all night after that. Aaron brought them chips and a bottle of coke. There were cups upstairs, Andrew stole them to make it easier. He saw Andrew was putting new bottles under his bed, which he could only assume were bought with today’s money. He’d left a bottle of Fireball in the middle of the room, and a bag of sour patch watermelons. In return, Aaron dug through his hoodie pockets, tossing an eighth in the middle of the room, and a gram of cocaine with it. Trusting Andrew enough to offer this was a step which Aaron didn’t know if he was ready for. 

\---

After Andrew killed his mom, their deal swearing off girls didn’t feel significant anymore. Nothing about his family, or whatever shambles of it are left, felt important. Rebecha was in his study group and she offered to drive him home again. She’d been the one driving him home every day he had to go to the group, leaving Andrew no time to get in and keeping Nicky at an arm's length away. 

Aaron was pretty sure if he could love, he loved Rebecha. Keeping her around was the only good thing he’d managed, and Andrew would notice soon enough something was making him too happy. Unlike everyone else, Rebecha didn’t care when Aaron spent too much time fiddling with the radio in the car, or if Aaron talked a little too much for his liking. Whenever he did, she tried to get more out of him and get him to open up. This time, Aaron read up late last night about bats, but now the conversation moved onto if Shaggy from Scooby-Doo was a stoner or not. 

“There’s no way in hell he wasn’t, dude had the munchies all the time, looked tired as shit, and his fucking color scheme was green and brown. Fuckin’ Earth tones.” Rebecha’s feet drummed against the hood of the car from where they sat on top. “And his best friend was a dog-- a fucking dog, Aaron, what sober guy does that?” She took a joint from her flannel pocket, lighting it before the wind picked up. 

“I don’t know, you really think Fred and Velma would’ve worked with a lazy stoner?” He took the joint from her hands, inhaling as needed to get his high going. She took it back while he spoke, and he didn’t mind. “I don’t see how it would’ve worked if Shaggy was high as a kite all the time, didn’t he always figure shit out in the end? Or am I remembering this cartoon wrong?” Smoke was blown into Aaron’s face then, but he didn’t cough. Aaron was glad he wasn’t a cougher, his lungs would suffice for longer without giving him shit. 

“But he’s  _ always _ high, when you’re always high, you learn to be smart when you’re high.” Her head on Aaron’s shoulder threw him off, but another hit helped ease his nerves. 

“That’s bullshit and you know it.”

“Yeah, it is, but you’re smart. I’m smart. Look at us, we get through class easy.” 

“Cause we aren’t lazy stoners, Shaggy is.”

“So you  _ admit _ he’s a stoner?”

\---

Nicky said he felt bad, but Aaron didn’t believe it when Nicky was the one free to leave the bathroom, and Aaron was the one locked inside for the next week. Aaron was the one who’s temperature was running high, and was shaking as he gripped the edge of the toilet to keep himself from collapsing. Nicky got to stay outside, yell through the door to him whenever he needed to talk. Nicky got to ignore Aaron cursing both him and Andrew to hell ten times over because they let this happen. 

It was Andrew-- Andrew, of all people, who brought Aaron more food when he’d ran out of non-salty foods, when Aaron was asleep and couldn’t fight to get out of the room. And he never said he was sorry, or felt bad. Andrew didn’t say anything. Nicky told Aaron all the time that he cared, and he’s sorry, but Nicky wasn’t the one caring for him in the end. When Aaron dry heaved and banged on the door, because he couldn’t breathe, Andrew’s the one who was there in a second to make sure Aaron wasn’t hurt. 

Nicky would try and talk to distract, subsequently causing Aaron to punch a hole in their wall because it pissed him off. Andrew didn’t do anything of that manner, but Aaron noted the books on the counter. Nicky was the one who had a clean life, who could feel bad without understanding any of what Aaron was. Nicky has two parents with money, he wasn’t left for the system or beaten black and blue because his mom was bored. Nicky couldn’t understand how deep it all ran, and he couldn’t understand how fast Aaron’s mood was changing while locked in there. 

When he was out of the bathroom, he didn’t show any interest in either Andrew or Rebecha, and he was okay with it. 

\---

The library had turned itself into one of Aaron’s favorite places to go on campus for a few reasons. It was big, Aaron could get away from Andrew, and he and Katelyn could have time to talk without interruptions from anyone else.

“You think jellyfish know they’re weird-looking?” Aaron’s gaze went from nothing back onto Katelyn, “Get that dopey grin off your face, do they know they look dumb?” He hadn’t noticed his face, and scrunched it back to his normal blank slate.

“Yeah, I mean, they look pretty stupid, they must notice nothing else out there looks like that.” Aaron heard his phone buzz and ignored it, “Do the other fish think of jellyfish as weird shits?” They both jumped when a book slammed onto the ground a few rows away from them, Katelyn’s laugh was enough to soothe the anxiety that came with the noise. 

“No, they see jellyfish as other things or they don’t even see them.” Katelyn’s snap back to facts made Aaron officially leave his wonderland with Katelyn. With his lull of silence, Katelyn picked up conversation again. He knew a slam shouldn’t startle him like this. “The dining room’s gotta be pretty empty, we can go over there and grab a very late dinner?” Anything to get the jumpy look out of Aaron’s eyes.

“Yeah, I’m starving.”

Katelyn didn’t push with Aaron all dinner, when he didn’t want to mention getting jumpy, or mention Andrew isn’t the only skeleton in his closet and she never tried to get more from him. She didn’t mind when he asked to sit away from the view of the path when she wanted to see the stars, instead tugging on the sleeves of his hoodie while he still wore it, and 

“We can go to my house for Thanksgiving, if you can. My parents want to meet you. I told them your family hasn’t decided what they’re doing yet, so they won’t think it’s weird if you want to come and then can’t.” He preferred the silence to this conversation, even though it is a necessary one.

“I really want to, you know I do.”

“What if you wiggle out of one day?” Katelyn knew it was a hopeless question.

“I want to meet your parents and do normal couple things, I really do. I can never get around Nicky and Andrew watching over my shoulder all the time. And, Nicky is having us go to his parent’s house for Thanksgiving.” Aaron didn’t like the way Katelyn’s smile faltered the smallest bit when she heard the no as a final answer, and he didn’t like the way he felt about it. “I’m sorry.”

“Babe, I understand. It was a long shot, my parents really wanted me to keep trying after I told them your family might have plans already. You’ll meet them sometime, maybe I can get them to come to a game?” Katelyn’s spirit didn’t seem to take a hit from him saying no, “You’re giving me that dopey look again, it’s been all day of this.” All day of Aaron spacing out and thinking about why he loved Katelyn wasn’t so bad. 

“It’s easy to love you today, I guess.” He rarely let the word love slip out, but he’d told Katelyn he loved her and he’d say it a thousand more times. She knew what loving Aaron Minyard entailed. She knew it meant sneaking around and risking her safety, and time. Katelyn had offered Aaron patience, a necessity which he’d been deprived of, and he cherished it. Aaron had held onto Katelyn, and he knew when he had her, he’d found someone worth risking it for. 

**Author's Note:**

> ah yes you can see half this was written at a completely different time months before today when it finished it :,) if i started it now i would have changed the name tbh but tell me what u think 👉👈


End file.
